Ancient Mystic's War of the Realms Saga by Lady Adellandra Dratianos (book club suggestions txt) 📕

Thinking quickly, Amethyst shot a magic-made webbing to catch them. With the other hand, she helped him back into the air.
“Are you okay?” She asked.
Scott nodded. “For now.”
It wasn’t over, yet.
From the ground was heard a shrieking laugh. Both Amethyst and Scott looked to see a lone soul, hiding in the shadows. They knew the soul was a Stalker, for it had bloodstains on tattered sixteenth-century clothing.
“Mortals think yourselves so smart.” The Stalker sneered in a scratchy voice. He conjured more bees to his command, aiming them again at Scott. “Try these on for size!”
The bees grew larger as they came nearer to the duo. Scott tried using his Fire-Starter power to fry them, but the swarm of bees only multiplied. To his horror, they grew larger with every shot of fire. Amethyst stopped using Unicorn Magic to help him dodge and fight.
Down on the ground, the Stalker continued to laugh.
Amethyst knew she had to do something, and quick. Scott was allergic to bee stings.
Watching him fight them off gave her an idea. She remembered what the Unicorn had told her about the turned Dweller-kin. They could only be destroyed by a shot to the heart or the rising sun. Since there wasn’t going to be any sunlight here, Amethyst thought of the next-best thing. Fire.
She looked to the Stalker below her, and saw he was distracted by his attack on Scott. If she could only distract him away from Scott, she could have her Earthly Protector put an end to the Stalker using his Fire-Starter power.
“Fire the Stalker, Scott!” She screamed, keeping her eyes on the Stalker.
For a moment, he was confused. Then he put it together, and smiled.
Knowing he finally understood what she was thinking, she shot a burst of Unicorn Magic at the Stalker’s shoulder.
“You think to wound me?” The Stalker rasped, the blast to his shoulder healing slowly on its own. “Silly fairy-girl!”
“Silly, am I?” Amethyst mocked. “You’re the one all covered in blood, Stalker!”
He was properly distracted, as planned.
With a final shout of “NOW!”, the Stalker was fried to a crisp by Scott’s Fire-Starter power, along with any Dark Warriors within fifty feet of him.
They descended to the ground. All other Dark Warriors ran in different directions away from them. The Companions, led by Braken Joel, raced to their sides.
“We sure showed them, didn’t we?” Scott supplied as he examined what remained.
“Yeah, we did.” Amethyst sighed.
“Are you okay?” Braken Joel asked.
She shook her aching head, kneeling to the ground and rubbed her temples.
“Power-drain?” Scott asked. His hand touched the Protectors’ Pendant at his neck. It was hot and pulsing.
“Something like that.” Amethyst breathed. Her headache was getting worse. “Joel, will you take care of the ashes? I’m not feeling up to it right now.”
Braken Joel nodded, turning to rid the area of all signs of Stalker.
Amethyst tried sensing her twin, to see if he was able to help her. It only made matters worse. That’s when she got a vision. “Oh Gods, Aaron!”
“What about him?” Scott asked. Whatever she was feeling, he felt it, too.
“He’s in trouble.” Amethyst supplied, standing with the help of Scott. “We have to help him.”
“Airmed’s there.”
Amethyst shot her Protector a look that could kill. “Scott, he’s my twin. I can’t abandon him! We have to find him before my vision comes true!”
“Vision?” Scott shared a look with a smiling Braken Joel. “You had a vision?”
“Never mind,” She grabbed his arm and took flight. “Let’s go, before it’s too late!”
Knowing he was now in charge of the Companions, Braken Joel headed into the marsh searching for Dominionites.

Story #1:
War Between Good and Evil

The Protector used his sword to fight off a particularly annoying Dark Warrior. There was something in the back of his mind, telling him there was something wrong with the Young Guardian. When he quickly looked, he saw she wasn’t fighting, only blocking.
He turned to his Dark Warrior as he fought it. “It’s been fun, but I’ve got to fly.”
With a knowing thrust, The Protector’s sword pierced through the Dark Warrior’s chest. It screamed as it died.
Back to his Ancient Mystic love; but first, to tend to his group of Companion fighters.
“Toby!” Tobias White-Snow was acting Companion leader, and the Protector made sure he took over before leaving his squad.
With a determined nod from Tobias, the Protector took Young Guardian in his arms and led her away from the fighting Dominionites. When they were safely hidden, he asked. “What’s wrong with you? Why can’t you fight back? Why shield when you can attack them?”
Young Guardian’s breath caught up with her. “I don’t know about me. Only the Unicorn.”
The Protector was puzzled. “What about him?”
“Something’s wrong. Royally wrong.” She was adamant.
“Airmed can handle it, can’t she? After all, she is his Protector.”
Young Guardian shook her head. “I’m not so sure she can handle herself right now, let alone him.”
She stood with his help.
Now he was really confused. She was talking as if she’d had another vision, but how could she, in the middle of a battle?
“Want to tell me what this is all about?” The Protector asked.
“No time. Let’s go to them.”
“Do you even know where they are?”
“Front lines. I can sense it.”
On that, they disappeared, only to reappear on the sidelines. That’s where they saw Amethyst and Scott from afar, with Orthos right in the middle of the action. Airmed stood in front of the Unicorn, who seemed to be frozen in his tracks. She wasn’t happy.
Young Guardian tried to sense the Unicorn, but his mind and soul seemed to be a complete blank.
Amethyst? Young Guardian sent to her almost-sister with telepathy, worried.
Amethyst turned to meet her eyes. Nothing.
You can’t sense him, either?
Amethyst shook her head.
Beside the Protector, so did Young Guardian.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
“We can’t sense him.” Young Guardian whispered. “I don’t get it.”
Amethyst and Scott walked up to the duo.
“I’m going in.” Amethyst announced, looking to Young Guardian. “Are you coming with me?”
“You bet.” Young Guardian supplied.
“Be careful.” The Protector said, looking from her eyes to a confused Scott.
“Always.” The women chorused.
As they went to the Unicorn and Airmed’s sides, they were met by a brilliant flash of light. Once their eyes readjusted again, they could see Orthos was fuming.
“What?!” He was astonished. “You were supposed to be destroyed by light! How can this be? You cannot still be alive!”
Both the Young Guardian and Amethyst could see Airmed’s form, smiling in defiance. She was flexing lengthy fingernails, staring at Orthos with blood-red eyes. Neither Ancient Mystic knew what to think. What scared them the most were her growing incisors, the sharpened fangs of a vampire.
Or, more precisely, a Dweller.
Young Guardian called in her mind to any Dweller-kin available to help while she watched the scene unfold.
“Surprise, Orthos!” Airmed’s raspy voice was nothing like her own. “I am invincible!”
Amethyst looked to her stunned brother. His Unicorn-green eyes were black and hollow. He was frozen in fear of this dangerously-new side of his usually-loving girlfriend.
Orthos saw the Unicorn hiding behind Airmed, and smiled. “Warriors! Attack!”
Airmed, Young Guardian, and Amethyst could only stand and watch as Dark Warriors shot arrows at the Unicorn’s frozen state. All three women tried to shift the arrows in another direction using their Magic, but it was too late.
They screamed as the arrows pierced through the Unicorn’s skin, propelling him to the ground just feet away from the girls. Amethyst turned from the scene, crying in Scott’s embrace. The Young Guardian could only stare, even as she was whisked away by the Protector.
Airmed stayed strong.

II

Chikité “Red Wolf” Moondancer’s head echoed with Young Guardian’s calls for Dweller-kin. He could smell the new blood in Airmed from miles away.
Celine Stargazer, who fought beside him in full wolf-form, froze and changed to kit-wolf form when she sensed her near-Bondmate was distressed.
Without realizing he was doing so, Chikité sent her an image of what Young Guardian sent him.
Be careful, she sent back, staring at him. Before he could leave, she kissed his Dweller-kin lips. Return to me.
Nodding, Chikité shifted to full wolf-form and raced to Airmed Starchaser’s aide. He hoped to stop her from destroying everything in sight, which, he saw when he got there, included Amethyst, Scott, and the Unicorn.
Despite the mind-call, Young Guardian was nowhere to be seen.
Just as well, Chikité thought to himself as he shifted back to Dweller form when he stopped. He surveyed the scene and knew; right then and there, he was the only one able to help her out of it. The smell of angry Dweller-kin blood-lust was unmistakable.
“Airmed!” Chikité called out to her. “Control your anger!”
“He must be destroyed.” She hissed, ready to attack. Her eyes glowed blood red and Chikité worried for her.
“Would you lose your soul to do it?” Chikité warned, racing to her side. “Control your anger, before the dark side controls you!”
He sensed the slow change in her, watching her mouth open to reveal growing incisors.
He tried again. “Be strong, Airmed. If not for yourself, for the Unicorn, your Bondmate.”
It was that word that forced her out of her Dweller blood-lust trance.
He waited as Airmed looked first to him, then to her boyfriend, whose Unicorn exterior was back to his Earthbound self. He was laying in the mud with arrows pierced through his body.
Chikité felt her returning to her mortal form; the fangs, claws, and hungry eyes gone.
“What have I done?” Airmed gasped in a whisper, her voice now back to normal.
“Nothing you could control, Airmed.” Chikité supplied gently. “If you wish, I will send for a Healer.”
Airmed nodded absently, still stunned at what she saw in front of her. Amethyst slowly made her way to her twin’s side, bending down to see if he was okay. Airmed noticed her, forcing out a weakened. “Oh, gods, Amethyst. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean –”
“I don’t blame you, Airmed. Really.” Amethyst wiped away tears before looking to Chikité. “Dammit, where’s the Healer! I can’t heal this much damage alone.”
Chikité sent a mind-call to Celeste. Take her and the Unicorn out of here, Matéré. Before she destroys us all.
“Matéré is on her way, Amethyst.” Chikité supplied softly. “My mother Celeste is the best Healer I know.”
“Thank you, my Donar.” Celeste appeared next to them in their hiding place. She bent down to the Unicorn and assessed him. “He’ll need more than my expertise, I’m afraid. Will you follow your Bondmate, Airmed?”
Airmed looked to Celeste and smiled, nodding.
“I go with them.” Amethyst announced, staring at Celeste. “He’s my twin brother.”
“Very well, but we must hurry.” Celeste nodded, taking Amethyst, the still-shaking Airmed and the Unicorn back to the hidden Healer’s tent.
“I want to go, too.” Scott protested, glaring at Chikité.
“Stay and fight, Fire-Starter.” Chikité announced with a hand on Scott’s shoulder. “They will all be fine in the Healer’s hands.”
Scott could only nod his head and agree, following the Mountain Wolf back into battle.

Story #2:
Strength in Magick Numbers

Jammins knew he had to do something. Just as in the Wars for Power years ago, many Companions were losing their lives and Dwellers were being mortally wounded. The Army was quickly running out of fighters, and Jammins was running out of ideas. On one last hope, he called Charlie, Julie, and the Elder Companion, Sir Sheldon